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| 1968 |
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| France lagged behind Great Britain in television set ownership. While the British owned 19 million sets by 1968, the French owned only 10 million. | 1 |
| Half of the French labor force was now in the service sector. | 2 |
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| May–June |
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| Violent student outbreaks at the University of Nanterre quickly spread to the Sorbonne and other institutions and ultimately involved hundreds of thousands of students. After widespread street fighting and occupation of buildings, the universities were closed. The crisis was aggravated by a series of strikes—involving millions of workers in various industries—that paralyzed the economy. In this truly revolutionary atmosphere, President de Gaulle appealed to the country for restoration of order in a radio address (May 24). He promised the drafting of reforms that would be submitted to popular referendum. On May 30 Parliament was dissolved and new elections were proclaimed. | 3 |
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| June 23, 30 |
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| The Gaullist Party won an outright majority of seats in the elections, while the Communists and other radicals suffered losses. It was obvious that the country at large was opposed to revolution and desired an end to disorder. | 4 |
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| July 11 |
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| Couve de Murville succeeded Georges Pompidou as prime minister. | 5 |
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